Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
I’ve learned a lot tonight. Parker is most definitely hiding something. That much I’m sure of. I didn’t find a lot but between the bogus background check and the letter in the safe, it’s a starting point. It will just take time to figure out.
The walk back to my truck is excruciating.
The last thing I want to do is leave Parker.
I want to get her back underneath me and wrap my fingers around her slender neck while I sink my cock inside of her.
The image of her rocking greedily against my fingers while she chased her orgasm is taunting me.
The way her pulse thrummed under my fingers as I squeezed her little throat. She was incredible.
I unlock the truck and climb inside. Leaning my head back on the headrest, I attempt to get my breathing back to normal and blow out a harsh breath.
Closing my eyes to try to regain my composure, I’m immediately hit with the image of her.
Her eyes wide with recognition and how she relaxed in my hold, even with my hands on her throat and mouth.
Her breathing picking up and her stifled moan when I ripped her panties off of her.
Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out her panties and rub the lace between my fingers then set them in the space under my radio.
They’re still damp and it does nothing to calm my raging hard on.
Leaning back once more I’m unable to fight it any longer, I reach for the top of my jeans to undo my belt and zipper.
Lifting off the seat, I shimmy my jeans and boxers down my thighs just enough to let my cock spring free.
Wrapping my hand around the base, I squeeze and groan at the sensation. Precum glistens on the swollen tip and I smear it with my thumb over the swollen head. I begin pumping my fist and close my eyes.
She runs through the woods at lightning speed and my heart picks up speed, and it isn’t due to the running.
I let her get far enough ahead of me to make her think she stands a chance at getting away from me, but once I decide I’ve had enough of this game, I pick up speed and quickly wrap an arm around her waist and take her down.
I pin her beneath me and slam her wrists into the ground and she whimpers, the sweet sound making me feral with need.
My fingers slide inside her tight pussy and she inhales sharply.
“Give it to me. Now.”
She comes on command and I nearly lose the battle with the monster rattling at the cage inside of me. He’s begging me to let him out, to let him claim her.
I quickly reach forward grabbing Parker’s panties and pump a few more times before I come inside of them.
My breathing is heavy and sweat beads on my eyebrows and temples.
I push the ignition button to turn on the truck and roll the windows down.
A gust of wind rushes into the cabin and the crisp early morning air slaps me in the face, helping me to calm down.
After pulling on my jeans and cleaning up the mess left over on my hand, I mull over what it is I want to do now.
I could go home, take a shower and get some rest. Or, I could stick around and watch her a little more.
She was so exhausted I thought she had passed out in the bathtub.
Which is why I demanded to sit in there with her until she was done.
I’m positive she’s finally getting the rest she needs, so me hanging out might not even register to her.
She’s perceptive and extremely intuitive, but in her current state of exhaustion I doubt she’d catch on that someone was watching.
Each time I’m here, I can see the shift in her body language.
She can sense me, but she’s never been able to catch me—until tonight and that was due to my own lack of awareness.
Once again, I must be fucking crazy because I decide I’m not leaving.
I’ve gotten a small taste of what it’s like to consume her.
I need more. I let her win earlier, telling me to leave, but I never said I’d stay gone.
She’s not going to be able to get rid of me now.
Not that she would have been able to before, but tonight's events just sped up what was inevitable. Parker will be mine.
Six hours later and I’m sitting in the chair in the corner of the room watching as Parker now sleeps restlessly. I watched through the doors for a while and when I was confident my presence didn’t register to her, I unlocked the door and made myself at home.
Her back is facing me and for most of the morning she has slept soundly.
Although, soundly might not be the right word.
Slept like the dead might be a more accurate term.
She stayed in the same spot that I’m sure she fell asleep in, her breathing was even and every now and then she would softly sigh.
Now, however, she’s beginning to kick her legs and thrash her head back and forth against the pillow.
My brows furrow and I lean closer as she starts to mumble, but I’m unable to make out what she’s saying.
A light sweat breaks out across her forehead, and it’s fucking killing me not being able to stop whatever it is that’s robbing her of sleep.
Her tossing and turning stops as she settles and her breathing slows back to normal.
But it doesn’t last long. Suddenly, she sits up in a flash and turns in my direction, pointing her Ruger straight at my chest. I arch an eyebrow and a smirk pulls at my lips.
I didn’t even notice she pulled the gun out of its normal place. Impressive.
“Good morning to you too, Sweetheart.” I say slowly. Her eyes fill with rage, her chest rising and falling with her harsh breathing. She stands from the bed, then begins walking toward me; each step slow and calculated.
“What the fuck are you doing here? How did you get in?” Her voice is low and the words are laced with venom, her stare never wavering as she gets closer.
“Did you really think a couple of locks would keep me away from you?”
Her feet stop between mine and I raise my head to meet her glare, the gun still pointed at my chest.
“Why are you in my house?”
“To see you.” I say very matter of factly.
Her shoulders fall slightly and the gun lowers, pointing now directly at my stomach.
I take the opportunity to grab her wrist and pull it from her hands.
Do I think she would have shot me? I wasn’t sure at first, but now I’m sure the answer to that is no.
She would have done it already if that’s what she wanted.
She hisses in a sharp breath when I squeeze her wrist and yank her down so she’s eye level with me. Her messy slept on hair falling in her face with the motion. I reach out to push the strands behind her left ear and cup her face.
“Careful, pretty girl. You could hurt someone with this thing.” Ejecting the magazine onto the floor, I stand to my full height and toss the unloaded weapon onto the bed behind her.
Reaching out with my free hand, I tip her chin up with my thumb and forefinger, forcing her eyes to meet mine.
She levels me with a glare, but I wait until I see a hint of submission before I let go of her wrist. She takes a step away from me, and her eyebrows scrunch together in the middle as she looks me up and down in confusion.
“Why are you here, Maverick?” She asks again as she crosses her arms over her chest. This time with less hostility and more curiosity.
“I told you, to see you.” I smirk.
“Why? I just met you last night, and what happened was a mistake. You shouldn’t be here.” A blush creeps into her cheeks when she speaks that damn word again. Mistake. Just like it did when she told me to leave.
“You and I know that’s a lie. And I don’t want to stay away from you.
” I take a step forward toward her and she remains rooted in place.
She lifts her head to look me in the eyes and I bend down and brush my nose against the shell of her ear, breathing her in and searing her scent into my brain.
“Nothing about you and me is a mistake.” I whisper.
Her chest begins to rise and fall rapidly and I take a step back to look back down at her. She’s blushing again, and I run my thumb along her cheek where it shows.
“How long have you been here?” She asks, softly this time.
“About six hours.”
Her lips part and frustration takes over her features. “Y-you…watched me sleep?”
I nod, maintaining eye contact with her.
“That’s not weird or anything.” She mumbles more to herself than me, but I hear it. Laughing, I walk toward her bedroom door.
“Coffee?” I ask. She raises an eyebrow, her lips still parted.
“Sure?” She stares at me dumbfounded, and I nod as I exit the room.
I walk down the hallway and into the living room then enter her kitchen.
Reaching up into the cabinet above her coffee machine I pull down two mugs.
Then, I open the cabinet next to it to retrieve two coffee pods and pop one into the machine.
Turning around, I rest my hands against the counter top and cross one leg over the other while I wait for her machine to heat up and fill the cup.
I look up from the floor as she crosses the threshold of the kitchen eying me warily, then opens the refrigerator and grabs some creamer.
The machine finishes the first cup and I replace the mug and coffee pod to start the second.
Once that’s finished, I slide the mugs closer to her and she puts butter pecan flavor in both cups.
I inwardly cringe. I drink my coffee black, but I will drink it because she made it for me. And I’ll learn to like it.
She remains quiet as she grabs her mug and walks over to the couch and takes a seat as far away from me as she can.
She pulls her legs underneath her and pulls the throw blanket over her lap.
I decide to sit on the opposite end of the couch.
I can tell she’s struggling to process the last twelve or so hours of her life, so I’ll give her some space for now.
Don’t get used to it.
I want her to accept my presence in her life willingly and without too much of a fight. Sure, I could have put myself in her path more. I have the perfect means to do so with Cole at the bar. I could have warmed her up to me, but I’m not a patient man.
“How did you know where I live?” She asks. Straight to the point.
I take a sip of the overly sweet and disgusting coffee without gagging, thank you very much, then sit up straighter. Placing the mug on the end table, I lean forward to rest my elbows on my knees.
“When James called looking to hire a bouncer, I did some light digging into the staff. Got your name and address that way.” I lie.
“So the first night you actually meet me you decide to just show up here to what? Wait for me to come home?” Her brows pinch together again in the middle as she tries to make the pieces fit, and she tips her head to the side.
“I’ll admit, that was a little…impulsive of me.” You weren’t supposed to catch me, but here we are.
“Just a little.” She lifts her hand from her lap and pinches her fingers together. “And breaking in and watching me sleep?”
“Also impulsive. But I won’t apologize for it.”
She shakes her head slightly and squeezes her eyes shut.
She’s getting frustrated with herself for having coffee with a man who just came in to watch her sleep, or with me watching her in the first place I don’t know.
I sit quietly watching her mind wage a war with itself.
She rubs her eyes with her thumb and forefinger and blows out a frustrated breath.
“I should have fucking shot you.” She says scowling at me, then throws her head back against the couch to stare at the ceiling.
“Probably.” I smile, it would have been the only way to stop me.
Her head snaps back down to look at me, big, beautiful amber eyes stare at me in disbelief.
“But you didn’t.” I say in a triumphant tone.
“It’s not too late.” She deadpans.
“If you really wanted to shoot me you would have. You can tell yourself all you want that you’re creeped out, scared, or whatever it is you think you should be feeling right now.
But the truth is, you feel just as much of a pull to me as I do to you.
And you felt it on Cole’s first night at Doc’s when Karson and I came in.
” She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and her eyes drop to the mug in her hands.
She sits for a moment lost in thought and then lifts her gaze back to me.
“I did feel it that night.” She says quietly.
“And last night when I sat for a drink. You were comfortable enough to let yourself fall asleep in my arms after I fucked that sweet little cunt of yours with my fingers.” She covers her eyes with her free hand and shakes her head furiously.
“I’ve never done anything like that before in my life.” She says, embarrassment written all over her face when she looks at me again.
“No?”
“Never.” She slowly shakes her head. Her voice is barely above a whisper and her eyes fall back to the damned cup in her lap.
I stand and walk to sit next to her then lift her chin with two fingers.
Tears pool in her eyes and I can tell she’s doing everything she can to keep them from falling.
Someone has made this beautiful woman feel ashamed.
My blood boils at the thought of anyone making her feel anything less than perfect.
When I find out who it was, they’ll wish they had never hurt her.
A few tears manage to fall on her cheeks and I swipe them with the thumb of my free hand.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed, Parker. Not about anything.” I say, desperately hoping she believes me.
She gives a small nod and sniffs. I release her chin and give her a moment to regain her composure. She rises off the couch, tossing the blanket to the side and walks into the kitchen to drop her coffee mug into the sink.
“Do you have any plans today?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
She turns to face me and shakes her head. “Not until this evening. Why?”
I look out the living room windows. The sun is shining and it’s in the sixties today. Yesterday’s rain made it so I couldn’t ride and I’m craving the feel of two wheels. Pulling out my phone, I fire off a text to Cole
Mav
My helmet?
Cole
Leaving the store now to bring it to your place.
Mav
I need one more.
The three dots appear, then disappear, then appear again.
Cole
Fine.
Stuffing my phone back in my pocket, I glance over to Parker, who’s watching me inquisitively.
“Want to go for a ride?”